NBA: Garden has been haunting the Miami Heat

The way the Heat reacted after beating the short-handed Celtics Monday to end a 10-game regular-season losing streak in Boston showed how intimidated Miami was by playing in the Garden.

Even though Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo didn’t play for Boston, the Heat didn’t downplay the significance of their 105-103 victory.

“It means a lot to what we’re trying to build,” LeBron James said. “A tough-minded team on the road, it’s a hostile environment. We grew again tonight and that’s big for our team.”

“There’s no one in the league,” Shane Battier said, “that tests your mental capabilities like the Celtics in the Garden. It’s always heated. There always seems to be some controversy, and it’s very easy to get out of whack with these guys. At times it didn’t look like we had our emotions under control, but I’m proud of the way we responded, especially down the stretch, especially in a heated environment like this.”

Before the game, no one had to tell Dwyane Wade that Miami had lost 10 in a row in Boston. He knew the number and was thrilled to end that drought.

Miami deserves credit for overcoming deficits of 17 points in the first half and 13 in the fourth quarter to extend its winning streak, which now stands at 25 games and trails only the 33-game streak by the 1971-72 Lakers. But how did the Heat ever fall behind by that much to such a short-handed team? In Miami’s next game, it overcame a 27-point deficit to beat Cleveland.

Doc Rivers coached the Celtics to 19 consecutive victories the season after they won the 2008 NBA championship, so he can relate to what defending NBA champion Miami has done this season while taking everyone’s best shot.

“They have pride,” Rivers said. “They’re champions and they take that mantle and they want to prove it. We went through that. Listen, even though you as a coach at times say, ‘Man this is exhausting. Every night they’re attacking us,’ the players are thinking, ‘Yeah, we’re the champs and we’re going to act like that.’ What they’re doing right now is they’re acting like they’re champs from last year.”

Judging by how satisfied James, Wade and the rest of the Heat were to win in Boston, you have to believe their confidence will still be shaky if they return to the Garden for the playoffs with Garnett back in the lineup. Of all the teams in the Eastern Conference, the Celtics still concern Miami the most and the Celtics get up to play the Heat, unlike New Orleans, Detroit or Charlotte.

Jordan Crawford is scoring less and enjoying it more.

After averaging 13.2 points in 43 games for Washington this season, the 6-foot-4 guard entered Saturday scoring only a little more than half that, 7.0 points, in 14 games for Boston.

The difference is that the Celtics hope to do some damage in the playoffs while Washington is one of the NBA’s worst teams.

“It’s great because every game means something,” Crawford said of playing for the Celtics. “It’s easier to go out and play when you’re motivated.”

Despite an awkward, herky-jerky style, Crawford, 24, has not had trouble scoring in any of his three NBA seasons. As a rookie, he scored a career-high 39 points against Miami. Last season, he averaged a career-high 14.7 points and last December in 13 games he averaged 19.1 points, 6.1 assists and 5.1 rebounds.

“He’s one of those guys as a player I wouldn’t want to guard,” Rivers said. “I never liked guarding guys where you didn’t know what he was doing because he didn’t know what he was doing.”

But the Wizards decided to go with Bradley Beal, their No. 1 pick last June, in the backcourt and Crawford clashed with Washington coach Randy Wittman after his playing time was cut. Crawford did not play in Washington’s last four games before he was dealt to the Celtics on Feb. 21 for the expiring contracts of Leandro Barbosa and Jason Collins.

The Celtics needed scoring off the bench after Barbosa was lost for the season with a torn ACL and Crawford can supply that. He poured in 14 points at Charlotte and 12 vs. Toronto on back-to-back nights recently.

“It’s just encouraging,” Crawford said. “It makes you want to come into work every day and put in more work and try to help this team in any way I can. It makes it easier when you’re playing for something.”

“He’s been good,” Rivers said. “He’s been our wild card. He’s becoming Barbosa-ish. You bring him in and you want him to score. Where we’ve been surprised is he’s a better passer. We don’t like the turnovers, but he does make the correct passes a lot. So I like him.”

On the Sports Hub last week, Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge called Crawford the team’s best passer. You have to assume that he wasn’t counting Rajon Rondo, who suffered a season-ending torn ACL in January.

“I don’t want (the Celtics) to have a letdown when I come in,” Crawford said.

Crawford has been around in his young life. He attended Hargrave Military Academy in Virginia after an ankle injury sidelined him for his senior year of high school in Detroit. Then he played for two colleges, Indiana and Xavier. After the Nets drafted him 27th in 2010, they traded him that night to Atlanta. Halfway through his rookie season, he was dealt to Washington and two years later he was sent to Boston.

His role with the Celtics is to provide points and he’s happy to oblige.

“I’m trying to score and be aggressive,” he said. “If they can away my jump shot, I try to get past them. It’s simple basketball.”

Crawford is signed for $2.1 million for next season and the Celtics can make a qualifying offer for $3.2 million for 2014-15.

Collins, by the way, had played in only two games for Washington prior to Friday and contributed three rebounds, three blocks and no points.

When Celtics guard Terrence Williams was asked last week about his alma mater, Louisville, being the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, he seemed a bit irritated.

“I haven’t been to Louisville in four years,” Williams said. “I don’t know why I keep getting all these questions about Louisville like I care. I don’t care.”

Even though he claimed not to care, he said still followed the Louisville basketball team this season.

“Yeah, I followed it,” he said. “Why wouldn’t I?”

Louisville was selected as the No. 1 overall seed for the first time since 2009 when Williams played for the Cardinals. Does he think this year’s Louisville team is better than his 2009 Louisville team?

“I’m not an expert on Louisville,” he said, “but I know it’s not better than my team. They don’t have me.”

Williams is averaging 2.4 points and 1.1 assists in 8 minutes over 11 games since the Celtics signed him on Feb. 20 as a free agent out of China. He’s been a backup with four NBA teams after becoming the only Louisville player to total 1,500 points, 900 rebounds, 500 assists and 200 steals.

Williams was told that CBS analyst Clark Kellogg thinks this Louisville team may be better than the 2009 squad that lost in the Elite Eight to Michigan State because this team has the experience of having played in the Final Four last year.

“I don’t care what Clark Kellogg said,” Williams replied.

The 2009 Louisville team had two lottery picks, Williams and Lakers forward Earl Clark, as well as forward Samardo Samuels, who played for three seasons in Cleveland before he was waived in January.

“I think this team is capable of winning it all,” Williams said, “but talent-wise and what we had, they wouldn’t beat us. They play good defense, but we had good defense and offense. They struggle to score some of the times. They get by with it because of their defense, but we had the same thing. I think their experience is going to help them in the tournament though.”

Williams said he loved playing for former Celtics coach Rick Pitino at Louisville.

“It was great,” he said. “I couldn’t sit here and tell you what it was like. That’s too much tape (for a tape recorder to record). It’s the best feeling. If everybody could experience being around him, I would recommend it.”

The Celtics may not agree.

Contact Bill Doyle at wdoyle@telegram.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillDoyle15.